How to Run 18 Team Double-Elimination Tournament
You can use our tournament bracket maker and create a double-elimination tournament for 18 teams in no time!
The tool lets you track scores, automatically advances players to the next games or rounds, and handles the grand final matches!
How Does 18 Team Double-Elimination Tournament Work?
A 18 team double elimination tournament consists of three brackets:
Winner’s Bracket
The tournament format for 18 teams resembles a single-elimination bracket for 18 teams, featuring multiple rounds and matches to decide which teams move forward.
Teams that lose their move into the losers’ bracket, giving them a second chance to continue competing and potentially make their way back to the finals.
Loser’s Bracket
Teams get a second chance to remain in the tournament through the losers’ bracket. Any team that continues winning on this side can fight its way back and earn a spot in the finals.
Finals
A 18 team tournament, the finals start with a matchup between the last team remaining in the losers bracket and the most recent team to be eliminated from the winners bracket. The loser of this match takes 3rd place, while the winner moves on to face the undefeated winners’ bracket champion in the Grand Final to decide 1st and 2nd place.
If the winner of the Grand Final game has not lost, they’re the champion of the tournament! If the winner has one previous loss, there will be one more game to determine the champion, and it’s called the Grand Final Reset.
Our tournament app handles all of the above automatically, so you don’t need to worry about it!
Seeding
You can select between seeded, blind draw, or manual pairing for the initial round:
- seeded: Higher-ranked players will meet in later rounds of the tournament.
- blind draw: The participants will get shuffled and paired automatically.
- manual seeding: Teams will be paired in the order entered, with the last ones assigned byes (if necessary).
Compared to other Tournament Formats
A double-elimination tournament format for 18 teams is somewhere between the round robin and single elimination. It takes longer than single elimination and is quicker than round robin, and is fairer than single elimination.
| Format | Total games | Games per team | Rounds | Fairness | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Round Robin | 153 | 17 | 17 | Everyone plays everyone | Best for leagues |
| Single Elimination | 17 | 1–4 | 4 | Harsh cutoff | Best for quick events |
| Double Elimination | 34–35 | 2–8 | 8 | More forgiving | Popular in esports |
| Swiss System | 36 | 4 | 4 | Balanced, flexible | Chess, card games |
Printable 18 Team Double-Elimination Bracket
If you wish, you can also print your generated bracket:
